David Canet has joined Bankwell as vice president, commercial and industrial lending. In his new role, he is charged with expanding Bankwell's C&I loan portfolio in Fairfield and the surrounding counties in Connecticut and New York. Canet is based at Bankwell's Bedford Street offices in Stamford. He earned his MBA in 1993 from the Columbia Business School in New York, N.Y., and his undergraduate degree from Tufts University. He is a member of the CT Small Business Advisory Board. Bankwell is the commercial banking subsidiary of Bankwell Financial Group. With six branches throughout Fairfield County, Bankwell combines a full array of services and financial expertise with local decision-making to support the needs of its customers.

Mark Nielsen has joined Stamford-based Frontier Communications as senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. He reports to Maggie Wilderotter, chairman and chief executive officer, and is a member of the company's seven-member senior leadership team. Most recently, Nielsen was associate general counsel and chief compliance officer for Danbury-based Praxair. From 2007 to 2009, he was a vice president and assistant general counsel of defense contractor Raytheon Co. Before that, Nielsen served as chief legal counsel, and then chief of staff, to Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, from 2004-2007. He also served three two-year terms in the Connecticut Legislature, one term in the House (1993-1995) followed by two terms in the Senate (1995-1999). Nielsen graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He lives in Ridgefield.

Ned Gannon of Stamford was named as one of the winners of the inaugural Stamford Innovation Center's Startup Leadership awards ceremony, held last Tuesday. The event was part of the first annual SIC Startup Pitch Night at the Innovation Center, a coworking and technology learning center. Gannon, CEO and co-founder of eBrevia, an artificial intelligence platform for the legal profession, won the John Mackie Brown Award for the hardest working startup leader. SIC Startup Pitch night was created as an opportunity for leaders from startups who work at the center to deliver short presentations about their business and share their experiences as startup leaders in the region.